Motor vehicle cup holder

Abstract

A motor vehicle cup holder with a support made of a rigid material and having a receptacle, which extends along a vertical axis and is radially delimited by a side surface, having at least one retaining seat. The cup holder has a lining device, separate from the support and having a liner, which lines at least part of the side surface and defines a seat for housing a container. The lining device has an elastically deformable inner protuberance to grip the container and an outer protuberance to engage the retaining seat of the support and is elastically deformable to enable disengagement of this outer protuberance.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A motor vehicle cup holder comprising a support made of a rigid material and having a receptacle, which extends along a vertical axis and is radially delimited by a side surface of said support; said side surface having at least one retaining seat; said cup holder further comprising a lining device defined solely by a liner which is separate from said support for being inserted/extracted with respect to said receptacle; said liner comprising a side wall, which lines at least part of said side surface and defines a seat for housing a container;
 said side wall comprising: 
 a) at least a first protuberance, projecting radially inwards and elastically deformable to grip said container; 
 b) at least a second protuberance, projecting radially outwards and engaging said retaining seat for axially holding said side wall in said receptacle; and 
 c) at least one elastically deformable zone to allow said second protuberance to withdraw towards the inside and be released from said retaining seat; 
 wherein said second protuberance is arranged at a lower height than the said first protuberance, with respect to said vertical axis. 
 
     
     
       2. The cup holder according to  claim 1 , wherein said side wall is elastically deformable and extends uninterruptedly around said vertical axis so as to cover said side surface for the entire extension of said side surface. 
     
     
       3. The cup holder according to  claim 2 , wherein said liner has no holes and further comprises a base so as to have a cup-like shape. 
     
     
       4. The cup holder according to  claim 2 , wherein said liner comprises a base having:
 a central portion defining a support plane, and 
 a peripheral portion, which is arranged around said central portion, defining a support surface at a height above said support plane and elastically deformable in the downward direction so as to become flattened. 
 
     
     
       5. The cup holder according to  claim 1 , wherein said first protuberance has a greater thickness with respect to a remaining part of said side wall. 
     
     
       6. The cup holder according to  claim 2 , wherein said lining device is defined by said liner and by a frame, which is arranged between said liner and said support, is elastically deformable, is more rigid than said side wall and is forced against said side wall so as to form said first protuberance; said second protuberance being defined by a portion of said frame. 
     
     
       7. The cup holder according to  claim 6 , wherein said frame comprises a top ring arranged around said side wall and a plurality of strips that are elastically deformable and extend downwards from said top ring; said second protuberance being defined by a lower bend of at least one of said strips. 
     
     
       8. The cup holder according to  claim 1 , wherein said support comprises a lower body and an upper body, coaxial and axially moveable with respect to each other between a first and a second configuration, to which a minimum and a maximum depth of said receptacle respectively correspond; and further comprising:
 elastic means exerting an elastic action so as to bring said lower and upper bodies into one of said configurations; 
 cam means to bring said lower and upper bodies into the other of said configurations against the action of said elastic means, and 
 a manually operable control member to control said cam means. 
 
     
     
       9. The cup holder according to  claim 8 , wherein said cam means comprise a cam hinged to said upper body. 
     
     
       10. The cup holder according to  claim 8 , wherein said control member is carried by said upper body. 
     
     
       11. The cup holder according to  claim 8 , wherein said elastic means comprise an elastic sleeve coaxial with said lower and upper bodies, interposed between said lower and upper bodies and having a top edge fastened to said upper body and a bottom edge fastened to said lower body.